On this occasion, Raza Rabbani said that it is an important day in the parliamentary and political history of Pakistan. He said that it is a unanimous document and no member of the Committee has written any note of dissent. "It shows the high significance of the parliament that has presented two important unanimous constitutional amendments [18th and 19th amendments] in one year.
The unanimous report is being placed before the National Assembly which shows that political system is moving towards maturity while democracy and institutions are being strengthened in the country. "All political parties are unanimous on core national issues as have been seen during the address of the Chinese Prime Minister to the joint session of the Parliament. Political culture is growing, we may have disagreement but we are unanimous on major issues," he said.
Rabbani said that some critics were contemplating challenging the 18th Amendment in the apex court to cause a clash among the institutions. But I salute the judiciary for staying within the prescribed parameters of the constitution and deciding to refer it to the Parliament for reconsideration. Today I say proudly that Parliament showed political maturity and respected the Supreme Court.
"Now, the danger of a clash among the institutions has been buried forever," he said. Rabbani congratulated the political leadership, members of the Committee, the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker on the presentation of the report in the House. He said that the 18th and 19th Amendments were prepared without any interference.
"Without their farsightedness, political maturity, sagacity while keeping the greater national interest in view, the unanimity in decision making could not have been achieved, and thus the Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010, which is a unanimous recommendation, would not have been possible," he said.
The Committee performed without any interference of the President, the Prime Minister, the Speaker and the leadership of other political parties. According to the report, the Committee has proposed amendments to Article 81, 175A, 182, 213 and 246 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court of Pakistan passed an order on October 21, 2010, in various Constitutional petitions challenging certain amendments, including Article 175A and some others made in the Constitution through 18th Amendment.
According to the Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010, for the appointment of judges of the Supreme Court, the Commission shall consist of nine members: Chief Justice of Pakistan, four senior most judges of the Supreme Court, a former judge of Apex Court, Federal Minster of Law, Attorney-General of Pakistan and a senior advocate of the Supreme court of Pakistan nominated by Pakistan Bar Council. In the draft Bill, the strength of senior judges has been increased from two to four.
Following is the text of the draft Bill:
2. Amendment of Article 81 of the Constitution. - In the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, hereinafter referred to as the Constitution, in Article 81,-
(i) in paragraph (a), in sub-paragraph (i), after the word "Court" occurring at the end, the words "and the Islamabad High Court" shall be added; and
(ii) for paragraph (b), the following shall be substituted, namely:
"(b) the administrative expenses, including the remuneration payable to officers and servants, of the Supreme Court, the Islamabad High Court, the department of the Auditor-General, the Office of the Chief Election Commissioner and of the Election Commission and the Secretariats of the Senate and the National Assembly;".
3. Amendment of Article 175 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 175, for the Explanation the following shall be substituted, namely:-
"Explanation.- Unless the context otherwise requires, the words "High Court" wherever occurring in the Constitution shall include "Islamabad High Court."
4. Amendment of Article 175A of the Constitution. - In the Constitution, in Article
175A,-
(a) in clause (2),-
(i) in paragraph (ii), for the word "two" the word "four" shall be substituted; and
(ii) in paragraph (iii), for the word "two" occurring for the first time, the word "four" shall be substituted;
(b) in clause (5),-
(i) for paragraph (iv), the following shall be substituted, namely:-
"(iv) an advocate having not less than fifteen years practice in the High Court to be nominated by the concerned Bar Council for a term of two years:"; and
(ii) for the provisos the following shall be substituted, namely:-
"Provided that for appointment of the Chief Justice of a High Court the most Senior Judge mentioned in paragraph (ii) shall not be member of the Commission:
Provided further that if for any reason the Chief Justice of a High Court is not available, he shall be substituted by a former Chief Justice or former Judge of that Court, to be nominated by the Chief Justice of Pakistan in consultation with the four member Judges of the Commission mentioned in paragraph (ii) of clause (2)."
(c) in clause (6), in the first proviso, after the word "the" occurring for the first time, the words "Chief Justice and the" shall be inserted;
(d) in clause (9), for the full-stop at the end a colon shall be substituted and thereafter the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-
"Provided that when the National Assembly is dissolved, the total membership of the Parliamentary Committee shall consist of the members from the Senate only mentioned in paragraph (i) and the provisions of this Article shall, mutatis mutandis, apply.";
(e) in clause (12),-
(i) for the proviso the following shall be substituted, namely:
"Provided that the Committee, for reasons to be recorded, may not confirm the nomination by three-fourth majority of its total membership within the said period:"
(ii) after the proviso substituted as aforesaid, the following new provisos shall be inserted, namely:-
"Provided further that if a nomination is not confirmed by the Committee it shall forward its decision with reasons so recorded to the Commission through the Prime Minister:
Provided further that if a nomination is not confirmed, the Commission shall send another nomination.";
(f) for clause (13), the following shall be substituted, namely:
"(13) The Committee shall send the name of the nominee confirmed by it or deemed to have been confirmed to the Prime Minister who shall forward the same to the President for appointment.";
(g) clause (15) shall be renumbered as clause (17) and after the existing clause (14), the following new clauses shall be inserted, namely:-
"(15) The meetings of the Committee shall be held in camera and the record of its proceedings shall be maintained.
(16) The provisions of Article 68 shall not apply to the proceedings of the Committee."
5. Amendment of Article 182 of the Constitution. - In the Constitution, in Article 182, after the word "Pakistan" the commas, words, figure and letter ",in consultation with the Judicial Commission as provided in clause (2) of Article 1 75A," shall be inserted.
6. Amendment of Article 213 of the Constitution. - In the Constitution. in Article 213, in clause (2B),-
(i) for the second proviso, the following shall be substituted, namely:-
"Provided further that the total strength of the Parliamentary Committee shall be twelve members out of which one-third shall be from the Senate."; and
(ii) in the third proviso, for the words "Parliamentary Committee shall comprise" the words "total membership of the Parliamentary Committee shall consist of" shall be substituted.
7. Amendment of Article 246 of the Constitution. - In the Constitution, in Article 246,-
(i) in paragraph (a), sub-paragraphs (iii) and (iv) shall be omitted.
(ii) in paragraph (c) ,-
(a) after sub-paragraph (iii), the following new sub-paragraph shall be inserted, namely:-
(iiia) Tribal Areas adjoining Lakki Marwat district;" and
(b) after sub-paragraph (iv) the following new sub-paragraph shall be inserted, namely:"
(iva) Tribal Areas adjoining Tank district;".